Latin American Startups: Success Stories

Unlike Silicon Valley – where “angel investors, tech talent and other vital ingredients to nurture startups are abundantly available” – Latin America is not considered a paradise for tech entrepreneurs.

All three of the companies mentioned in the article, Latin America Startups: How Three Sourcing Entrepreneurs Crossed the Chasm, immediately focused their attention outward on multinationals in the US market. In the 1990’s, that was certainly going against the common trend. Even today, most entrepreneurial startups try to build a strong domestic presence first, to then go on and consider expanding internationally.

The first entrepreneur interviewed (they kept his eye on him since the last edition of the Red Hot Startups contest), mentions his frustrations before the success he enjoys today: “We were at the University of Campinas, which is one of the best science universities in the country and a great environment to start up,” says Gon. “I was excited by the talent I saw there, which was at the same level of knowledge and ability to execute as in the US. But I couldn’t find a single Brazilian company that was respected or represented that talent.”